


Ribbons and Dust

by orphan_account



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Decided not to quit this, Dimension Travel, Forget Chapter 4 ! there is new stuff!, Gen, I Tried, My First Fanfic, Probably won't be back on this, Reluctant Hiatus, Soul Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-09-22 12:40:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9607997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Everyone gets bored, and no one wants to be bored. So why not play a game?  After all, its a nice game "where no one has to die" Right?Yeah, not the best summary...





	1. The Would-Be Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This doesn't look like your bedroom. How did you get here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Revised for (hopefully) the better

You believe in many things. You believe that life isn’t all about work, that everyone deserves a chance. And even… that magic existed. You were pretty sure it did, anyway. For you it seemed to be the only explanation for many things: such as haunted castles and places like stonehenge. And more recently, you believe in your magic. 

Well, it's not like you could ever confirm it; but there have been several times, both in dreamland and the waking world that you could feel… something. But you don’t really know what.

Speaking of dreamland, this particular dream is rather... unpleasant. Static fills your head, almost to an agonizing degree, all while you f a l l. 

You groan as you roll over, blearily blinking in the darkness. For some reason your mattress is extremely uncomfy almost as if you were sleeping on the ground….Wait. What? Last thing you remember… ‘That’s right… I started up Undertale and… and what? Did I play? did I go back to bed? what happened!?’ Now you're awake. And immediately you know you are not in your room. In fact, it appears as if you’ve been kidnaped. Great. You stare up at rock. Slightly confused, you get up, discovering surprise! You are very sore. You take in your surroundings as you rub your poor back.

It’s kinda… familiar somehow. But you are very certain that you have never went into caves before. Much less this one. You look towards the only reason you can see in this place. A gaping hole, far above your head, showing a perfect view of the night sky. “How did I survive that?!” you say, wide-eyed at what had to be a fifteen foot drop. “Also, can I climb back up there?” You pace around the splotch of light the hole let through, furrowing your brow, hands on your hips. The cave looks craggy enough that climbing up there should be possible. You stop, a new train of thought in your head. ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute, if I was kidnapped or something, then wouldn’t they’...You frantically pat yourself. Clothes? Check. Shoes? Check. Wounds? No check. Phone? You almost tear the zipper of the windbreaker open to check the inside pocket. You feel some extra pads. Kudos for paranoia! You feel some more… You let out a sigh of relief. Check. 

“Even if my stuff is still on me, there could still be a kidnapper up there. And I probably can’t get a signal in here”. You breathe out through your teeth and sit down. Huh, there’s flowers down here. They are kinda big, soft, yellow things that you now knew were definitely not as cushy as they looked. They didn’t really look familiar though… You furrow your brow slightly as you gently touch a leaf, momentarily lost in thought. Dad might know what these are…. ’ Dad, Mom, I hope you guy’s are ok’... You’re pulled out of your reverie by a quiet rustling, as if there is something else in the cave… “Please don’t be a-a murderer or something… please?” you whisper, looking around almost frantically. ‘D-don’t panic Nat, i-it's probably just a rabbit or something! Yeah! Just a normal, adorable fuzzball. It’s okay, it’s okay…’ You try to calm down as you search for the… whatever. Nothing but cave. Rock, flowers, rock, flowers, more rock, more flowers… at this rate you are squinting into the semi-darkness watching for whatever it is to come out of wherever it is. The strange rustling gets louder. Closer. It’s coming… from behind?! You did the one thing you never thought you would need to do. Play dead. The rustling continues. And then it stops. You don’t want to move, but you also want to know what the thing is… 

“Huh.” Wait, what? You hear someone mumbling to themselves, somewhere along the lines of ‘poor thing’. Know you know that it’s not something, it’s someone! ‘O-oh geeze, I hope that’s just some… I don’t know! Hiker? AS long as it isn’t a kidnapper ‘ You open your eyes, staring at the flowers and mentally breathe a sigh of relief. ‘Good I hope they're gone…’ Whoever it is seemed to move away after seeing you, so you look up. Still just flowers. You turn slightly, still shaken, you see nothing but flowers. Did they run off? Sitting up, you look all around, confused. Shouldn’t there be someone around? You weren’t just hearing things, right? You shakily stand up, not seeing anything new-

“M-maybe it was my imagination?” There it is again ‘Who is that?!’ you still don’t see any...one? What the heck are you seeing? ‘Flowers are not supposed to have FACES! What is going on here!’ The flower doesn’t seem to notice you, so you kneel down into the patch of other, NORMAL flowers. 

“O-oh!” oh, no…“Um, he-hello? Are you awake?” You REALLY don’t want to answer it.. Maybe it's friendly? You shakily try to respond, not looking at it as it gets closer to you.

“Um… H-howdy, I’m F-flowey, Flowey the-”

“Flower?” you finish, staring wide eyed at the sentient, nervous, scared flower. ‘This can’t be happening’ You sincerely hope you are hallucinating, after all, since when do videogame characters come. To. life! But, something is off . If this even is Flowey, then shouldn’t he be trying to kill you? You scrutinize him. Same slightly crooked stem, same yellow petals, same shy, scared expression? ‘Oh no. I really hope this is some sort of crazy hallucination, because something has to be seriously wrong for Flowey of all monsters to be scared...‘ You want to disprove your fears right now “Um hi, Flowey, do you know where we are?” ‘Please don’t be the underground, please don’t be the-’

“W-we are in th-the underground.” Oh no. “Well, the start of it”


	2. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undertale, huh. Well, you'll probably live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if this is short. I haven't had much time to work on this...

You can’t help but to stare in pure disbelief. If this really, truly is The Underground, and if that thing is honestly Flowey… ‘Oh shiz, I sincerely hope that I’m not in some sort of alternate underground, like Horrortale or something… oh lord’ And the fact that you are in a videogame, well, that was just a whole other kind of what-the-heck that you didn’t want to deal with. Not with UNDERTALE’s #1 least trustful monster, at least. 

Speaking of the flower, He looks more nervous now that you have been just staring at him in silence for at least a minute while you were internally freaking out. He actually looks kind of worried, which is weird, considering he normally wants your SOUL. What is going on here?

“A-are y-you ok?” You blink and give him a (hopefully) convincing smile.

“Yeah, you said you were Flowey, right? ” He nods. “Well, I uh, appear to be lost. Do you know anyway out of here? “ Well, at least he isn’t attacking you, In fact, he looks to be all-too-happy to help.

“Yes, I-I’m Flowey, B-but there isn’t really any w-way out. At least n-not here” He takes a deep breath, as if trying to prepare himself for what he has to say “ Y-you see, t-the underground is-is FULL of M-mo-monsters, and at the v-verrry end of the underground, is the B-Barrier. That’s where you c-can leave” You are well aware that Flowey never spoke about the Barrier, ever. His explanation only gave you more questions. Why did he stutter MORE when mentioning the monsters? And more importantly, why did he willingly tell you about the where you can leave??

“B-by the way, w-who are y-you? H-Humans d-don’t usually f-fall down here”

“I’m”... Does it really matter? “Natalie. Nice to meet you?” You extend a hand, and a vine pops out of the ground to shake. 

“S-same”

You look to the back of the cavern, pitch black. You try to peer into the darkness, but to no avail. Flowey looks to where you are trying to see and starts to sweat. Which shouldn’t be possible, but then again… 

“If y-you want, I-i could show you to the e-exit” he says, moving further back, his vine still in your hand. “ Of th-the Ruins I m-mean”. You start suddenly, forgetting that you were just standing in the flowers, and start walking beside Flowey with a healthy dose of precaution. ‘I hope this isn’t an elaborate scheme to lead me to my doom, but he seems legitly helpful, I hope I can make it out of here’ The tunnel doesn’t get any brighter, only darker and damper, but Flowey appears to give of a subtle glow, as if all that DETERMINATION keeping him alive was giving off light somehow…   
“W-wait h-here” he says, quieter than he was back at the ‘starting point’ as he points to a small alcove, scanning the darkness ahead for something unknown. You know that Toriel is supposed to appear when you meet Flowey, but in the playthroughs you have seen, this part of the Ruins was never explored. You hope this is the right way. 

You're not too sure how long you’ve been waiting for Flowey to come back. The steady //drip-drip// off the ceiling along with the stark darkness gives you a distinct sense of unease. You huddle further into your windbreaker, tucked away in the alcove. ‘What if he doesn’t come back? Did he even intend on helping me?’ You’re trying to decide if you should continue to wait, or go on by yourself. Going back does not appear to be an option. You take a step away from the pocket in the tunnel, but stop. 

“Nat, he may not come back, and even if he does, who’s to say he still doesn’t want your SOUL, but..” you trail off, still in internal turmoil. You shake your head. “No, no! I have to go on, I can’t just wait!” You march onwards, hands buried in your pockets as you are filled with PERSEVERANCE.


	3. Hello, Goat Mom?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You on your own... aren't you?

Does this tunnel ever end? You slow down your steady trudging through the underground, staring at the darkness ahead. You weren’t too sure how you got here, but you knew you couldn’t stay. You slow to a stop, the steady dripping echoing slightly. Looking up at the rugged rock, you think about earlier, when you were home…   
‘What… happened? All I did was open the new file and.. And’

“Arg! Why can’t I think of it?!” you bring your hands to your head, scrunching your brow in confusion as you try to think. For whatever reason, your normally reliable memory took a vacation on you, as you struggle to remember the events that brought you here. “Oh, get a grip, Nat!” Deep breath, “well, whatever the case, I better keep going. I sure hope this tunnel ends soon…”

With that you continue your march forward, you are intent on finding an end to this place. You round a sharp corner, squinting ahead. Was it just you or… was that a door? Stepping closer, you notice the faint light close to the ground, as if… You squint up at barely distinguishable symbol. ‘Wings, a circle, and… three triangles?’ Wide eyed, you step back, the rock wall now recognizable as a door.

‘That /can’t/ be the entrance to the ruins, I haven’t even ran into Flowey!’  
“Speaking of that guy, where is he?” you whisper, slightly confused. You were so focused on just moving forward you forgot Flowey went ahead...Maybe he’s beyond the door? You try to push the cold, stone door, both hands against its surface. Nothing. You push harder. You’re winded, but it didn’t budge. “Huh-How does Toriel get this thing open?” you pant, back against the immovable door. ‘It probably doesn’t open inwards…’ You already checked for a door knob. Apparently Tori didn’t believe in ease of access. ‘Oh, man, Toriel, I hope she’s alright. Judging by Flowey’s explanation, something seriously wrong must be going on..’   
You slide down the door, lost in thought. You always liked Tori, ever since watching that first Undertale let’s play, she had to be one of your favorite characters in the game. Which was now apparently real… You have a lot of stuff to figure out. 

You’ve been sitting on the damp ground for a while, thinking about what happened before all this… You started the game the day before, then you couldn’t sleep so you opened your file and… That was all you knew. A sense of frustration reaches you. 

The door wouldn’t open, and now you can’t even really remember what happened? You scowl, hands fisted. You will not stop here. With a deep breath, you stand up and face the door, steely determination and perseverance in your eyes. You push. With your shoulders. With your back, driving every inch of you into opening that door… and then

Ccrr -eak…. The old stone door opens a crack, A smile half-forms, your efforts finally holding out. But ‘I can’t celebrate yet!’ You heave towards the door, this time pushing it wider inch by inch, till it is wide enough to barely squeeze through. You step back, arms like jelly, legs barely holding up. “Th-there…. Its….. open. “ you say, breathless from the effort. You almost feel like collapsing, but you can’t not yet. You gotta make… it….. Though… the door….  
You’re a step inside when you hear a warm, almost motherly voice….

“Oh my dear, you look exhausted!Don’t worry, my child, I’ll help”

‘Toriel?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, new chapter! I finally finished this bit~


	4. I am truly sorry.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I might have to give up.R&D for adoption

This may sound odd, but I can honestly never stay in the same fandom, no matter how much I adore it, for very long. I always,  _always_ get bored of it, no matter what form I experience it in.

That's not to say I leave it forever, I will always(eventually) make my way back around to it. At some point, all intrest in that particular fandom fizzles out, and I get hyper-into the next one.

Maybe weeks after I posted the previous chapter, I was faaarrr from Undertale and exploring the vastness of Skyrim. Of course, that did not last either.

The point is, even if I have the best inspiration to write something in any fandom, I'm only going to be rearing to go for a while. And if the story is erm... taking its time, Its starts to feel like that job no one really likes but goes to anyway to (hopefully) apease a "boss". I don't know. Maybe I should stick to series's of connected one shots for every fandom I find interest in? 

The thing is, I love writting (or at least writting them in my head) long stories. Stories with extensive lore and backrounds. But I also can't stand writting about something I may not regain interest in for _months._

And I also feel bad for the readers if there is a long hiatus, and I despise the idea of myself doing it.

But aside from lack of interest, I feel like this story has fallen flat. It might be because I felt I had to-no WILL do better than this one fic (which shall remain nameless for the authors sake) which had numberous plotholes and was difficult to distinguish if it was meant to be a crack fic or a more serious one.

When I first started writting R&D, it was more or less a self insert with a bit of 'you are in the story' with a 1st person POV. And while I knew that self-inserts aren't that big of a deal, I instead made Natalie a 'everyperson' + some unique traits. When I first made her character, I was very attached. As if I was her; but the main thing I share with her isn't really something 'essential' to the character. 

Since this was my first time writting for other people, I'm afraid I may have been over-eager to post this story. When I first started, I had two things. A) an idea, B) a burning desire to make something 'better' than that one fic.

If anyone IS willing to take this up, I am fully willing to e-mail my planning and specific tidbits I was going to add. But thats if anyone IS willing to take this up, I am fully willing to e-mail my planning and specific tidbits I was going to add. As long as you stay true to what I've established, I don't care (that much) what twists you take.

But thats if you are honestly going to continue it. Who knows? Maybe you'll make R&D the great story I wanted it to be.

 

I am sorry I could not do better on this,

 

CND

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't think I should give this up, tell me. I don't want to sound like a whiny child that want's attention, but if you do think I should keep at it, give me suggestions on ploty bits, filler bits, what is good, what should be changed and why. I know I may not have the most actractive summary or the most interesting tags, (I wasn't sure how to tell people about R&D without spoiling anything) but you read this anyway. Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed this (ailbet incomplete)story, Ribbons and Dust.


	5. I'm (Not really) Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geeze, my mind can change quickly...

       When I originally posted Chap. 4, I really wasn't t anymore. But! I felt a bit of an obligation to keep it up, and I thought it would be much better to just hand it to someone else. Needless to say, feelings have changed. 

 

*sigh* For quite a while actually, I have never written anything  _for_ other people, just to see. I was used to handing in short stories to teachers in elementary school. Combine that with the fact that I 

A) have much easier 'conversations' in my head than i do on  ** _any_** other way- and that includes posting stuff online!

B) Am not used to being so frank with my thoughts. Usually when I'm explaining stuff it can get pretty-darn  _convoluted_  

C) am still not sure how to portray my thoughts. I actually find it helluva hard to express my intent- and knowing people will understand my true intent. I don't think  **Bold** _Italic_ and underline  are the most expressive...

D) have seen how people interact online, and I am  ** _incredibly_** unused to expressing myself online. (as i pull the covers over my head, in my head)-- see what I mean?

E) Compared to when I  _think_ of what I'll say _before hand,_ the actual thing comes out slightly/maybe a bit more different (format does not matter at all)Probably thoughtspeed does not= writing/speaking speed, so I don't necessarily go with my immediate thought. 

 

But aside from that, I believe that it's safe to say that I don't particularly want to give up this fic. Not now, no way, no how. And honestly,(and I know I can come off as standoffish) I (rather reluctantly admitting this..)  _am still_ a bit. A.Bit. interested in the Undertale fandom. Its mostly because At the time of writing chap.4, I wound some  _reeaally good,_ well written stories. So I'm still partway in. Kinda like I stopped crawling out of the sea only to go "Nah..." and stop at the beach. (Geeze, it's never, and I mean _ **never**_ been so hard to leave a fandom!) 

And for the most part, I discovered that while my undying love of stories can't fade, I'm not really cut out for _writing_ them. Well, not longish ones. Soon, I'll open a "Snippets" work that will be composed of one shots- that way I can work with my weirdly wavering interests. (It'll be multi-fandom) that can be used both as promts for other people, and things-to-continue for me! 

 

Also, no matter how much I write, I'll never get over just how  _short_ my stuff getts- Apparently I like Getting To The Point. ^ . ^

 


End file.
